Page:The Swiss Family Robinson (Kingston).djvu/353

 Being in no way hurt, he speedily recovered his feet, and declared he had given it its quietus.

“I hope the terrific noise you made just now was the signal of victory,” said my wife, drawing near, with the utmost circumspection, and holding Franz tightly by the hand. “I was half afraid to come, I assure you.”

“See this dreadful creature dead at our feet; and let us thank God that we have been able to destroy such an enemy.”

“What's to be done with him now?” asked Jack.

“Let us get him stuffed,” said Fritz, “and set him up in the museum amongst our shells and corals.”

“Did anybody ever think of eating serpents?” inquired Franz.

“Of course not!” said his mother. “Why, child, serpents are poisonous—it would be very dangerous.”

“Excuse me, my dear wife,” said I. “First of all, the boa is not poisonous; and then, besides that, the flesh even of poisonous snakes can be eaten without danger; as, for instance, the rattle-snake, from which can be made a strong and nourishing soup, tasting very like good chicken broth—of course, the cook must be told to throw away the head, containing the deadly fangs.

“It is remarkable that pigs do not fear poisonous snakes, but can kill and eat them without injury. An instance of this occurs to my memory. A vessel on Lake Superior, in N. America, was wrecked on a small island abounding in rattlesnakes, and for that reason uninhabited.

“The vessel had a cargo of live pigs. The crew escaped to the mainland in a boat, but the pigs had to be left for some time, till the owner could return to fetch them, but with small hope of finding many left alive.

“To his surprise, the animals were not only alive, but remarkably fat and flourishing, while not a single rattlesnake remained on the island. The pigs had clearly eaten the serpents.”